
Cleanliness is very important in the production of food. This is especially true in the dairy industry in which floors are periodically flushed with water and cleaning solutions to maintain appropriately sanitary conditions. One way to do so is by pumping the cleaning liquid up through an opening in the floor at strategically located positions to wash 10 down the floor. The flow of the cleaning liquid through individual openings is often accomplished by the use of dairy flush valves adjacent to each opening. A flush valve is commonly mounted to the upper end of a Tee extending from a supply line. One conventional valve uses an inflatable bladder which when inflated seals the opening and prevents fluid flow. Deflating the bladder permits water pressure from the supply line to push open a valve to permit fluid flow to pivot a pop-up lid, which is normally flush with the top surface of the floor, upwardly to an open position to permit the cleaning liquid to flow on to the floor. Another conventional version does not use a pop up lid, but rather uses a fixed grate with upwardly extending vanes flush with the floor surface.
The present invention is directed to a flush valve of the type including a body having a remotely actuated valve element between an inlet and an outlet of the valve. A rotatable grate having angled vanes is positioned at the outlet whereby the direction of fluid flow can be selected. The grate is preferably manually rotatable to provide manual selection of the direction of fluid flow.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to a method for flushing at least a portion of a surface with a cleaning liquid. According to this method, a rotatable grate of a flush valve is oriented to a desired angular orientation according to a desired cleaning path, the grate having vertically angled vanes. The flush valve is opened to allow fluid passage through the rotatable grate and cleaning liquid flows through the flush valve and between the angled vanes so the cleaning liquid flows along the desired cleaning path.
An advantage of the invention is that it permits the flow of a cleaning liquid over a surface to be directed by a user rather than simply having cleaning liquid flow upwardly out of a grate valve. The cleaning liquid can be provided a desired flow direction along a cleaning path. This eliminates the need to rely solely on the slope of the surface as to the direction and speed at which the cleaning liquid flows.
Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.